At heart, both the weak governance and the poor urban design that is causing the problem. Kibera is heavily governed with minimal municipal support and is characterized by unclear land ownership that is gives cost to investment into infrastructure. The unplanned and crowded layout of the settlement with narrow alleys and no proper roads makes it difficult to build or maintain WASH systems. In addition, climate change facilitates flooding, which damages facilities and adds to the contamination of water sources.
However, they are reaching, and even sometimes surmounting, these hurdles. Examples include the treatment of 10,000 people daily at 11 climate resilient public spaces created as a result of the Kibera Public Space Project since 2010. Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS) is another initiative that uses sunlight to treat water and reduces diarrhea cases significantly. These are examples of what’s possible when communities drive but often depend on short term cash. Urban governance must place community voices, equitable policies and designs that fit Kibera’s needs at the centre to build an inclusive society. Such work will pave the way for more research on sustainable funding, climate-resilient systems and the particular challenges faced by women and girls to ensure that any change is permanent. Kibera’s story, for students is a challenge to solve urban problems creatively and in partnership.
It is Kibera’s physical environment which poses design challenges. The settlement is densely packed and with shacks housing multiple families in spaces as small as 12×12 feet, it is K-WATSAN Report. Infrastructure development is complicated by narrow alleys, the lack of roads, and lack of a formal waste collection system. Kibera has open spaces where drainage is not proper and there is no permeable green space, making it prone to flooding which contaminates water sources and damages facilities. Large scale WASH systems are nearly unfeasible given this unplanned layout, which relies on localized solutions that are unable to meet demand.
Community-driven interventions offer promising solutions. The Soweto East K-WATSAN project was designed to improve WASH through community participation, creation of management committees and construction of seven sanitation blocks and a road. In a 2012 survey of 275 residents, 55.7 percent reported “much better” conditions, with sanitation blocks cutting ‘flying toilets and the road promoting commerce. Governance and design hurdles include such challenges as inadequate consultation with vulnerable groups and construction delays caused by Kibera’s density. The project increased access to water and sanitation, improved the environment and supported income sources, and it reinforced principles of inclusion and partnerships that K-WATSAN Report.
The Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI)’s Kibera Public Space Project is another impactful one. This project has since 2010 built 11 climate resilient public spaces that cover 35% of all purpose-built public space in Kibera Public Space Project. They offer flood protection, drainage infrastructure, sanitation facilities, recreational areas and small business opportunities for 10,000 people a day. The design process has involved over 5,000 residents to meet community needs. According to the project, it has installed 520 meters of flood protection and 840 meters of drainage infrastructure, which has greatly improved living conditions for more than 125,000 residents, especially women and young people in Kibera Public Space Project.
Recent research very starkly quantifies the extent of WASH access challenges. According to the 2021 study, 77.4 per cent of Kibera’s population has limited WASH access, which is defined as a facility within 100 meters with at least two options. Villages such as Soweto East (0% adequate access) and Kambi Muru (2.9%) are particularly underserved, as the average distance to a water source is 95.5 meters and to a toilet 89.4 meters. In Kibera’s crowded terrain, these distances are significant for women, children and the elderly. The other hurdle is service reliability: 78.5% of respondents said they had difficulty accessing enough water, 4.3% use private toilets, and 56.7% are concerned about poor maintenance of public toilets WASH Accessibility Study. These conditions put peoples’ health at further risk and underscore disproportionate burden of these tasks among women and girls.
